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Audi bought Ducati in 2012, but its parent company contemplated selling the brand in 2017 to pay for diesel crisis costs. Photo by Newspress

Here's why Audi won't sell Ducati after all

Report: Diesel woes are seen as manageable by VW AG, helped by strong profits

December 13, 2017

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Audi has dropped plans to sell Italian motorcycle brand Ducati, which was reported to be on the chopping block in the months following the Volkswagen diesel crisis, Reuters reports. Audi parent company Volkswagen was considering selling Ducati along with transmission maker Renk in an effort to cut expenses and raise cash in anticipation of $30 billion worth of diesel crisis expenditures. The pending sale of Ducati was also aimed at funding the automotive giant's electric car efforts.

"I can assure you that Ducati belongs to the Audi family," Audi CEO Rupert Stadler told reporters from Reuters. "Ducati is the perfect implementation of our premium philosophy in the world of motorbikes."

Audi has owned Ducati since 2012, but in the wake of reorganization at VW, the brand has not been seen as strategically crucial for the Volkswagen Automotive Group. The reversal also doesn't mean that Audi will keep Ducati in the long term; there are plenty of suitors for the storied motorcycle marque. Volkswagen had also reportedly considered selling truck brands Scania and MAN Diesel & Turbo in an effort to generate money.

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"For Volkswagen's powerful works council, it could be an easy bargaining chip they could offer to push through something completely different," a person with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

Audi bought Ducati for $935 million, in a deal seen as a trophy of sorts for VW AG. Former VW Chairman Ferdinand Piech coveted the brand for a number of years before the purchase itself, which made Ducati the 11th brand in the VW Automotive Group.